An Air Canada aircraft taxis for departure on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, on May 27, 2026. (Photo by Mike Campbell/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Canada’s largest airline is assuring passengers that their safety was never compromised by a former pilot who was recently found to have been flying routes without the proper license.
Big picture view:
Air Canada offered new details Monday on the incident in its response to monetary penalties imposed by the nation’s federal transportation agency, Transport Canada. In its statement, the airline noted that the individual is no longer employed by Air Canada.
The airline went on to offer repeated reassurances of the individual’s qualifications and abilities as a pilot, despite the fact he did not hold all the licenses needed to serve as a captain for the airline.
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What they’re saying:
Air Canada argued that passengers’ safety was not compromised by the pilot’s lack of a license, pointing toward its semiannual training that is meant to test pilots’ competencies.
“Throughout his employment with Air Canada, the individual in question was a fully trained pilot who held a valid Commercial Pilot Licence, and he successfully met or exceeded the required recurrent training, demonstrating a high level of competency to safely operate large aircraft,” the airline wrote in its statement.
Dig deeper:
While the pilot held a commercial pilot license, he did not hold an airline transport pilot license, which is a higher level of certification and a requirement to be promoted to captain. Air Canada says it has since rechecked its other pilots and found no other potential violations.
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